Shawn is a small-business owner and veteran who will stand up for the continued health and safety of all women of Virginia. Shawn will join other pro-choice allies in the General Assembly in fighting for women to have continued access to safe, legal abortion and other reproductive health care.

So why is the race in Senate District 13 so important?

First, Virginia’s state Senate is currently what we call “mixed-choice.” That means when votes on abortion and choice come to the floor of the Senate, we do not have a reliable pro-choice majority. We often see a 20-20 tie, with anti-choice Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling casting the deciding vote. We saw this scenario play out earlier this year as anti-choice legislators snuck through S.B. 924, a bill singling out women’s health centers for new, politically-motivated regulations.

But here’s the other thing: Shawn is running against one of the most extreme anti-choice candidates in the state – former Delegate Dick Black. As we reminded you last week, Dick Black is beyond zealous in his anti-choice views. He was already ousted from the House of Delegates in 2005 because of his extremism and his single-minded focus on restricting reproductive freedom at the expense of other issues that matter to his constituents. He’s remembered for distributing plastic fetus dolls to fellow lawmakers, seeking to ban abortion in all circumstances, and even attacking access to birth control! We cannot allow him back in Richmond.